DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?
Andy's very challenging but fair Saturday puzzle left me playing a mental edition of this game:
The puzzle came down to an obvious vowel for the crossing of these two words:
27. Court dance : PAVANE - A slow, processional dance of 16th century Europe. I wonder if Cole Porter could have written When They Begin The PAVANE if he were alive in 1588.
Suffice it to say "I" made a bad pick but had a good time. Two stacks of nine-letter words and twin ten and eleven letter stacks looked very impressive to this humble blogger! Well let's see what other treats Andy has for us:
Across
1. Longtime employer of 26-Down : ABC SPORTS and 26. "Miracle on Ice" commentator : AL MICHAELS - Al called out, "Do you believe in miracles?" when the USA beat the 46. "Miracle on Ice" loser : USSR
10. Double shot? : STUNT - Fabulous clue! Here's Johnny Depp with his STUNT Double
15. "Geek sighting!" : NERD ALERT - Name calling abates when you really need one!
16. "Mad TV" alum Lange : ARTIE - You might know troubled ARTIE better as this guy's sidekick if you go for that type of entertainment
17. Runway-ready : DRESSED UP - Models properly adorned taking off down the runway
18. Boarding pass data : ZONES - Seating areas like this flight from Jeddah to Cairo
19. Pay stub abbr. : YTD - Year To Date
20. Kid gloves, so to speak : CARE - Parents have to know when to treat their child with kid gloves.
21. Turn down : REJECT
22. City on Lake Michigan : GARY - Or your humble Saturday blogger
23. African capital formerly called Salisbury : HARARE - Salisbury, Rhodesia became HARARE, Zimbabwe as the British Empire continued to shrink
24. "Cool, dude!" : GNARLY - Beach lingo
28. Hard-to-count quantity : PILES - PILES are much harder to count than stacks
29. Emit a powerful magnetic force? : OOZE CHARM - Delightfully phrased by Alan Jay Lerner and wonderfully sung by Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady describing a pompous Turkish man who dances with Liza32. It's all downhill from here : ACME
33. Hoofed it : HIKED
34. Comics pooch : ODIE - Here with his best friend
35. They're matched by foundations : SKIN TONES - Foundation/SKIN TONE match chart
37. Take forcibly : WREST
38. Like milk of magnesia : CHALKY - Mg(OH)2
39. "You Gotta Be" soul singer : DES'REE
40. Old-time feature film preceders : SHORTS - "One-reelers"
41. Corduroy feature : WALE - The "ridges" in the material that can make that swoosh sound when walking
42. Rose __: reddish mineral : QUARTZ
43. Big name in hair trimmers : WAHL - I bought one because Paul Harvey was pitching them. Meh...
44. Big Ten sch. that competes for the Paul Bunyan Trophy : MSU - Naturally enough, the other team is Michigan
47. Singer __ Marie : TEENA - Claimed to be a black artist with white skin
48. Exposes to public scorn : PILLORIES
50. Goldbrick : IDLER - Is Beetle Bailey the most famous one?
51. Ruins things? : ARTIFACTS - Pompeii is nothing but these
52. Pains : PESTS
53. 1790s political powder keg : XYZ AFFAIR - Our young country refused to pay a bribe
Down
1. "Honey, I'm Good" singer Grammer : ANDY - Not on my playlist but I think I've posted enough pictures of singers I don't know
2. "Sesame Street" roommate : BERT - He of the paper clip collection
3. Street __ : CRED - Short for credibility which can be gained by some overt act
4. '60s protest org. : SDS
5. Units of pressure : PASCALS
6. Owner of a legendary lantern kicker : O'LEARY - Most say her cow did not start the Chicago fire but it makes for a good story
7. Put through the wringer again? : REDRY
8. "Can't argue with that" : TRUE
9. Brand sold at Pep Boys : STP
11. Agent that undermines from within : TROJAN HORSE - Modern day application
12. "Cure Ignorance" magazine : UTNE READER - I only know this from crosswords. My ignorance is probably incurable anyway.
13. Victoria, to William IV : NIECE - Yup! William IV had a brother named Edward and Edward's daughter was Victoria
14. One of many taken in school : TEST
21. Rhapsodized : RAVED
22. Britt Reid's alter ego : GREEN HORNET - See alter egos below
 |
| Chen Zhen Britt Reid Bruce Wayne Dick Grayson |
24. Med school admissions data : GPA'S
25. __ of time : NICK - When the superheroes above appear
27. Cooler : POKEY - Colorful name for a jail
29. Hog calls : OINKS - For calling hogs at this school it's SOOIE!30. Obey a court order : RISE - When Officer Byrd says RISE for Judge Judy, you'd better or he will 31. Parcel (out) : METE out a big time glare
33. 1980s-'90s Notre Dame football coach Lou : HOLTZ - A great coach and speaker but a horrible TV football analyst
36. Medieval Turko-Mongol settlers : TARTARS
37. Comfortable : WELL OFF
39. National flower of Mexico : DAHLIA
40. Jacket material : SUEDE - Jerry Seinfeld muses about why water can hurt Suede when it comes from cows who stand out in the rain.
41. Strauss piece : WALTZ - Professor Higgins and Liza doing just that
42. Common applicator : Q-TIP
43. Like an Irish Terrier's outer coat : WIRY
44. Flaky mineral : MICA
45. Long-distance calling org.? : SETI - The best movie about Search for Extra Terrestrial Intellligence scientists
48. __ Romana : PAX - Sometimes it was PAX Romana or else!
49. Battle of Britain gp. : RAF - Royal Air Force
Your take?
DA GRID
